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Peters jury hears tape Prosecutors play police interrogation in court By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – The sound of gunfire rang out in the courtroom Wednesday afternoon as prosecutors played scanner traffic in the trial for a man accused of shooting at three deputies. On the recording, a breathless McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Khalia Satkiewicz desperately sought help. “Dwight’s down. I myself have been hit,” she told dispatch. According to authorities, Scott B. Peters, 52, of Holiday Hills, fired more than a dozen rounds on responding officers Satkiewicz, Dwight Maness and Eric Luna. The criminal trial for Peters began this week in McHenry County. Prosecutors ended their case late Wednesday by playing a two-hour recording of Peters’ police interrogation. In it, Peters said he fears police, who have “been beatin’ me down my whole life.” Over and over, he said he didn’t know it was police at his front door when he began shooting. He thought someone was breaking in. It’s the same ar-
gument his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Rick Behof, made in his opening statement. But later, Peters said that he knew that deputies would be on both sides of the front door he fired through. He said if he wanted to kill them, he could have. “I’m a [expletive] good shot,” he said. Peters told McHenry County Sheriff Detective Scott B. Tim Jonites that Peters once he realized it was police he shot, he fled the area. Peters said he was trying to get to a church to turn himself in because he was afraid police would shoot him. “I didn’t want to get shot. Not without a pistol,” Peters said, laughing. Peters led authorities on a 16-hour manhunt before he was captured about six miles away. According to testimony from the deputies, Peters yelled “Airborne!” and “I’m a U.S. Army paratrooper. I hope you’re ready to die today” before firing.
See PETERS, page A2
Dems note possible Ill. budget obstacles By KERRY LESTER The Associated Press Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Third-grade teacher Denise Soling talks with Andrew Ghanayen, 8, of Huntley on April 8 at Martin Elementary School in Lake in the Hills. Soling engages with the students, who also use tablets to learn in their general education class.
Learning new skills key to keeping teachers engaged By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com
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UNTLEY – Over her nearly 20-year career as a teacher, Denise Soling said it’s her role as a student that’s kept her engaged and devoted to her job. But Soling, a third-grade teacher at Martin Elementary School in Huntley District 158, is in the minority when it comes to being engaged as a teacher, according to a recent Gallup poll that showed only 30 percent of teachers were involved, enthusiastic and committed to their jobs. Those numbers – based on interviews with about 16,500 full-time kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers across the country from 2011 to 2014 – don’t seem relevant to Soling and leaders in several McHenry County school districts. Local school officials said teachers stay engaged in part because of increased technology in the classroom and the lessons teachers themselves have to learn to use it.
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“I don’t ever feel like there’s teacher burnout. I truly love my job. I love my students. I feel like there’s always something new to try.” Denise Soling Third-grade teacher at Martin Elementary School
“I don’t ever feel like there’s teacher burnout,” Soling said. “I truly love my job. I love my students. I feel like there’s always something new to try.” Some 32 percent of Illinois teachers were deemed engaged in their jobs, based on poll data. That percentage landed the state in fifth place among the 15 most populous states for teacher engagement. Illinois followed behind Georgia and North Carolina at 33 percent, Texas at 34 percent and Washington,
where Gallup reported 35 percent of teachers were engaged. On the other end of the spectrum, Illinois tied for the smallest percentage of teachers who are actively disengaged. Gallup defines teachers who are actively disengaged as those who are unhappy and act out their unhappiness in ways that undermine their co-workers’ accomplishments. Of the teachers surveyed in Illinois, Washington and Massachusetts, 10 percent said they are actively disengaged. The remainder of Illinois teachers surveyed – about 58 percent – said they were not engaged, according to Gallup. Teachers who are not engaged are defined as those who might be satisfied with their jobs but don’t have an emotional attachment. Teacher engagement has powerful implications, Gallup researchers contended. The agency credited
See TEACHERS, page A5
SPRINGFIELD – With just weeks left before Illinois’ 2016 budget must be passed, Democratic leaders and GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner remain far apart on how to bridge a $6 billion revenue gap. A memo circulated by Senate Democrats late Tuesday questions roughly $5.8 billion in savings in Rauner’s proposed $32 billion budget. The caucus suggests the proposal may not only violate a provision of the Illinois Constitution, which
promises employee benefits shall not be “diminished or impaired,” but also likely requires changes to state law and federal policies and negotiations with labor unions. Among their concerns is that cutting $1.5 billion from the Medicaid health care program for the poor, which is funded by state and federal dollars, would require federal approval. Lawmakers began meeting this week to work on the governor’s “Turnaround Agenda,” a set of pro-business priorities
See BUDGET, page A5
Brian Jackson – Sun-Times Media
Downers Grove Mayor Martin Tully urges residents to oppose Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed cuts in local funding at a news conference Monday with a group of suburban Chicago leaders at the Thompson Center in Chicago.
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